Wednesday, Jun. 11, 2008

Few, Herndon House race heads to runoff

Some Richland County voters will head back to the polls in two weeks to choose between two Republicans running for the House.

School voucher supporter Sheri Few will face fellow small business owner David Herndon for the House seat that includes portions of Northeast Richland and Kershaw County.

Neither was able to secure enough votes to win Tuesday. A third candidate, political newcomer Tony Lamm was handily defeated.

In November, the winner takes on Democrat Anton Gunn who unsuccessfully ran for the seat in 2006.

Incumbent Bill Cotty is retiring and has endorsed Herndon.

The race included fireworks when Herndon criticized Few for accepting out-of-state campaign donations from school voucher supporters. Few said she has long supported vouchers and stood by her decision to accept donations from those who felt the same.

Meanwhile, a runoff was narrowly avoided in the House 77 race where Rep. John Scott did not seek re-election. Scott is running for a Senate seat instead.

Richland County Council chairman Joe McEachern nosed out assistant solicitor Drelton “D.J.” Carson and retired Department of Transportation employee Benjamin Byrd.

The race proved one of the most heated this election season with accusations flying that McEachern misled voters about his educational background. Carson was criticized for only recently moving back to the district where he was born.

In November, McEachern faces Republican community activist Michael Koska who decisively defeated fellow Republican John Rust.

Meanwhile, Richland County incumbents shined Tuesday, muscling out challengers in House and Senate races.

Sen. Darrell Jackson, D-Richland, easily defeated challenger Wendy Brawley, chairwoman of the Richland 1 school board. Jackson, pastor of Bible Way Church of Atlas Road, will run unopposed in November.

Veteran Rep. Joe Neal dominated fellow Democrat Mary Barber Kirkland, a longtime Richland 1 educator whose platform focused on children’s and senior citizens’ needs. Neal, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, faces no Republican competition in the fall.

He will continue to represent the district, which includes parts of Lower Richland and Sumter County.

Rep. Chris Hart, an attorney who has just completed his freshman term in the House, easily held onto his north Columbia seat. He withstood opposition from Joe Brown, who represented the district before losing to Hart in 2006.

Hart is the presumptive winner since no Republican is challenging him in November.

Meanwhile, farmer and retired educator Rep. Jimmy Bales maintained his Lower Richland seat. He was opposed by retired U.S. Air Force member Stanley Robinson.

Bales also has no competition in November.

Reach Smith at (803) 771-8658.